Book Review: Rita’s big adventure

Decades as an elementary-school teacher left Rita Major-Hallerdin with a keen desire to write about child safety. If her first effort is a good predictor, “Quincy’s Theme Park Adventure: A Lesson Learned” will be the first of a significant series designed to teach reading skills — and at the same time improve parenting. Hers will likely be an adventure as big as Quincy’s.

Her slim book was written to be read to and with young children, and to help their parents keep them out of trouble in big and troublesome Disney World (although she used a different name for the park, which is Disney’s loss).
It’s been well received so far. Both the Kindle and paperback versions have begun to move up in Amazon rankings, and should improve as more reviews come in.

Local reception has been good, too. Two dozen interested readers — grandparents rather than parents, considering where we live — came to Rita’s presentation one sunny afternoon at the Meadows Country Club in Sarasota, where they had the chance to question her and the capable illustrator, Kathy Houghton, without whom Quincy’s adventure would not have worked.

I’m very pleased that Rita’s book came out so well. I saw it in draft, without the illustrations, and (even though children’s books, and children, are not my thing). But if they’re yours, you will enjoy it and may come away from it with some useful ideas from the pertinent suggestions on the final pages.